Several types of artificial hip joint devices are available for use by surgeons, and such devices usually take one of two forms; namely, a pre-assembled ball and socket device, or a device wherein the ball and socket members are implanted separately whereupon the ball element is forced into a resilient opening in the socket and thereafter held in place by the resilient material. In the case of the pre-assembled elements, several undesirable effects have been encountered, in that it is sometimes very difficult to manipulate the patient's prosthesis-receiving openings into the precise alignment required to receive the outer portion of the socket member, and the stem which extends from the ball element. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain such alignment during the curing of cement utilized to hold the elements in place. Also, in the case of presently known pre-assembled prostheses, ambulatory motions of the patient, especially during early recuperative periods, sometimes cause the socket element to be dislodged from the acetabular opening, since the joining force between the socket and the opening constitutes the "weak-link" of the prosthesis.
In the case of socket elements having a resilient retaining ring, for allowing the ball member to be forceably inserted into the socket after the two elements are implanted, the resilient member, by its very nature, constitutes the weak-link so that the forces exerted on the prosthesis by ambulatory motion may cause the ball to be separated from the socket, and such force is generally required to be no greater than the force required to be exerted by the surgeon to insert the ball into the socket. In any event, separation of the ball and socket, or the dislodging of the socket element from the acetabular opening, both require the patient to be subjected to another operation to remedy the prosthesis failure. Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to overcome the above-described deficiencies of prior known devices.